ERIC Number: EJ1415664
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0143-4632
EISSN: EISSN-1747-7557
Available Date: N/A
Exploring Transcultural Competence in the Internationalised University Classroom: The Role of Intercultural Friendships and Plurilingualism in the Construction of a Transcultural Identity
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, v45 n2 p209-223 2024
This mixed-methods study explores whether undergraduates in a multilingual, multicultural university -- and more specifically in a multi-dimensionally internationalised classroom -- manifest transcultural competence when starting university studies. The article precisely focuses on the role of intercultural friendships and personal and family plurilingualism in the construction of an identity that reveals such competence, namely, a transcultural identity. Data include profile and transcultural competence questionnaires as well as interviews and classroom observations. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses show that first-year undergraduates in such a university display transcultural competence at the start of their studies, but more so students with intercultural friendships, personal or family plurilingualism, or belonging to a multi-dimensionally internationalised classroom. Qualitative data document that this educational context may trigger affordances for diversified plurilingual intercultural interactions in which transcultural competence may manifest in the form of a complex transcultural "twenty-first-century youth identity" that is linked to sensitivities and attitudes valuing heritage as well as a transnational way of life.
Descriptors: Intercultural Communication, College Freshmen, Multilingualism, Second Language Learning, Cultural Awareness, Self Concept, Friendship, International Education, Cultural Background, Universities, Institutional Characteristics, Foreign Students, Communicative Competence (Languages), Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Language of Instruction, Student Characteristics
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Spain (Barcelona)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A